This is a special edition of our Odds and Ends posts. I’ve been collecting random images from the internet. I’ve been wanting to do something with them, but I haven’t found a use. And they are sitting around in the place I put temporary images before uploading them to Frankly Curious. So they are just in the way. And if I find a permanent place to store them, they are as gone as if I had just deleted them. But they are pretty good. I’ll do my best to provide context.
Nixon: Prince of the Deep
First up is an image from The Daily Show in a segment called, Start Wars — a pun on Star Wars. It is about the Iran nuclear deal, noting the hypocrisy of Republicans in wanting to control the president regarding treaties but not wars. One of those treaties is the Law of the Sea Treaty. James Inhofe said that it would make us relinquish sovereignty of “70% of the world.” Jon Stewart responded, “As you know, America currently owns the oceans ever since President Nixon blew on Neptune’s fabled conch shell and became Prince of the Deep.” That went along with the following wonderful image:
Bigotry Buddies
Next we have two images from The Nightly Show. The first is from a bit on Ferguson Police Bias. During it, Larry Wilmore joked about a television series featuring George Zimmerman and Darren Wilson called, “Bigotry Buddies.” I’d watch it:
Blacks Do the Darndest Things!
The second is from Tuesday night’s excellent show on the Baltimore situation, What a Riot. A Fox News commentator said, “We got two stores right now, this guy’s walking out with a Colt 45 poster and then he’s burning it but you certainly got a lot of free liquor there that’s going on in the five finger discount here.” Wilmore responded that the clip was from the new show, “Blacks Do the Darndest Things!”
Mystery Insect
This next one comes from a great photographer I follow on Google+, Robert Langdon. He is out of Florida, and does these amazing backlit shots. I don’t know that much about photography — just enough to be really impressed by his work. One day recently, he posted the following unidentified insect. But even more than the identity of this little charmer, is what that silver ball is underneath her. If you all have any thoughts, let me know.
You can also check out Robert Langdon at Fine Art America.
Hipster Flintstones
And finally, we have have something that came to me from someone I follow on Google+, but I don’t remember who it is. But it is everywhere on the internet. Still, I thought it was pretty good. It is also self-explanatory. But I will note one thing: there is nothing to indicate Jesus in this image. Perhaps they are just celebrating the winter solstice?
That’s all for now kiddos. But we’ll be back later with another loose collection of things whenever it seems appropriate.
My favorite “Odds and Ends” to date; I was going to sleep before those “Nightly Show” clips kept me up. The one with the fake Ferguson cop was just genius.
Close-up photography of insects or anything else is all about lens focal length and exposure time and light availability. I used to know a lot more about it, develop my own photos and such, and if called to trial on the matter I could probably bone back up on digital changes fairly quickly, but essentially: what Langdon does in close-up shots is really, really hard to do. So, worth doing. Like figuring out this writing nonsense. (You ratfucker, getting better all the time at it!)
(If the shot’s at a close enough zoom magnifying the tiny bug, that silver ball could just be a dewdrop. Depends on the bug size. Amazing shot if that’s the case.)
I mentioned that possibility, but it was in the middle of the day. I’ve asked him the size of bug, but I haven’t heard back.